Painting the Town Blue: Denver Theater District Art Installation To Turn Trees a New Hue

It’s a sad fact, but a true and inescapable one: Even in a city as beautiful and environmentally-conscious as Denver, we sometimes take the natural world around us for granted. That’s precisely the issue artist Konstantin Dimopoulos wants to highlight with his installation piece entitled “The Blue Trees,” coming April 18 to the Denver Theater District.

The environmental installation brings awareness to the threat of global deforestation, and it’s exactly what it sounds like: Dimopoulos will be painting the trees of downtown Denver blue—literally. Using a biologically-safe, water-based, non-permanent colorant, Dimopoulos will paint 150 trees over the course of several weeks, both alone and with the help of volunteers (specific dates, volunteer information and registration will be announced this month).

“I chose to use blue because blue trees do not exist in nature,” Dimopoulos explains. “I want people to notice the trees, to see them as more than just wallpaper in their lives. Change can be threatening. Changing a local environment through color is both disconcerting and even uncomfortable.”

He says that while the trees in this installation will eventually revert back to their natural state, the old-growth forests and rainforests currently threatened around the globe are irreplaceable, at least in our lifetime.

The Denver Theater District has worked closely with the Denver Department of Public Works, the Denver Forestry Office and Denver-based organization The Park People to bring this installation to life. More information about “The Blue Trees” and other Denver Theater District events is available on the DTD website. Engage in the conversation about “The Blue Trees” with the hashtag #KonBlueTrees.